Sen. Mike Fasano,
the most outspoken legislator when it comes to property insurance issues, is
calling on the Florida Cabinet to hold a hearing into the “lavish” spending by
Citizens Property Insurance executives.

On Sunday, the Herald/Timesreported
on the growing travel and meals expenses by Citizens executives, who regularly stay
in five-star hotels across the globe while publicly complaining that company
finances are in trouble, and asking for rate
increases.

On Friday, Fasano sent letters to Cabinet members—Gov.
Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner
Adam Putnam—asking them to call the
high-spending execs to the carpet for their expenditures.

“Citizens’ top executives and board members have been
shameless in the way they lavishly spend tax dollars on travel and related
expenses,” Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said in a statement. “While crying poor mouth they stay
in posh hotels, eat expensive meals, and engage in international travel.
While so many of their customers are struggling to cut their personal budgets
so they can pay their ever increasing premiums, Citizens’ higher-ups are living
high on the hog on the public dime.”

Fasano signed each of the letters personally, writing “Something
must be done!”

The Herald/Times report found that Citizens’ Chief
Financial Officer—responsible for drafting an annual budget that doubled travel
expenditures—was one of the main executives racking up five-star charges on the
company credit card.

CFO Sharon Binnun spent more than $600 a night for hotel
rooms, bought a $260 bottle of wine with her company card and spent $265 for two
visits to a Tallahassee
hair salon.

During international trips that took her to six countries, she
stayed at the $549-a-night New York “Palace,” and the $633 “gold room” at the Fairmont Hamilton “Princess” in Bermuda.

Citizens has defended its high travel expenses as a good
investment for policyholders, but has not publicly had to answer questions from
lawmakers. A 2006 audit of the state-run insurer’s books questioned why
Citizens was allowed to ignore spending caps placed on other state agencies.

Last November, the Cabinet grilled former Citizens president
Scott Wallace over the rapid growth of Citizens, and the potential risk it
could cause the state if a once-in-a-century hurricane hit.

Scott warned Wallace that the current state of the company
was unacceptable and he expected him to solve the problem quickly, without
involving the Legislature.

Wallace resigned within weeks and was replaced by Scott’s
neighbor and political ally, Tom Grady.
In his first three months on the job, Grady spent $13,000 on travel, including
a $2,000+ first-class ticket to Bermuda. He
also hired
his “special assistant” to a $50,000 a year job, even though Citizens
already had an “executive assistant” making $67,500. He was ousted from the job
in June and replaced by Barry Gilway.

Gilway said he would take a closer look at company expenses
but called the recent travel costs “absolutely” defendable, saying that the
trips saved the company a lot of money.

Gilway sent letters to Scott and other Cabinet members on Friday, saying that he would be looking more closely at company spending and welcomed the opportunity to present new proposals at the next Cabinet meeting.

A spokesperson for Putnam said the Agriculture Commissioner had not yet seen Fasano's letter, but that he "welcomes the opportunity for there to be further discussion by the Cabinet about Citizens' business plan and expenditures of tax payer dollars."

A spokesperson for Atwater said the CFO expected Citizens to address its travel spending policies at the next board meeting on Sept. 7.

Other members of the Cabinet did not immediately respond to
requests for comments about whether they would hold a hearing on Citizens’
executive spending. The next Cabinet meeting is September 18.